Our Design Process
Our Design Process
Designing any kind of structure is a journey, one that we take great pride in. No one project is ever the same, but we always strive to put the same thought and effort into creating designs that both inform and excite our clients, whether they are schools or private gardens.
The Design Process for Schools
The Brief
The brief given to us by the school is incredibly important. The more we find out about what the teachers, pupils, parents, PTA and governors want, the more we are able to create a proposal that ticks all the boxes.
Proposal
Once we have taken the brief on board, we will discuss ideas that we feel would work for you. These ideas will be put forward in our proposal, describing how we feel we could help you achieve your goals, with our woodland themed designs.
Our proposals will always be true to our ethos of using coppiced sustainable timber and creating a wonderland that engages the children, taking them to a magical place in the woods. What better way to enhance imaginative, challenging, sensory play.
Design and Consultation Agreement
Once the school has agreed to use us to design and build their new outdoor area, we enter the ‘Design and Consultation Agreement. This is a chargeable process, which allows us time to create sketches, mood boards and give a number of presentations until everyone is happy with the final design.
Mood Board
This design process requires commitment from a number of people representing the school. The PTA, teachers and governors are essential in these meetings. The chosen representatives will need to attend each of the design presentations, this is where we get our feedback, and new ideas are often sparked during the meeting as everybody gets a feel for what is possible.
During the design process, we refer to Rospa guidelines, ensuring the fall zones and soft landing requirements are met. Once the final design has been signed off we send these drawings to Rospa, who create a document showing their views on this particular design in regards to safe play.
We always recommend that a post-installation inspection by Rospa should be carried out. This is charged at £395.00 +VAT, and is chargeable to the school, who then keep the report for their records. Anything flagged up in this report will be dealt with by Artisan Structures, as stated in our construction agreement.
Then the final design is complete and signed off, we go ahead with creating a construction schedule and risk assessment. We are then fully focused on gathering materials. This is where things get really exciting for the school, as we post images of us in the woods, coppices, sawmills and workshops for the school to see and share. This really gives the children a feeling of excitement, and also opens up the possibility of working woodland management into the curriculum for that period of time.
Once we have completed the build, we are happy to attend an assembly at the school to answer any questions and talk a little about the journey we have been on creating their play or education space.
Drag the horizontal slider up & down to view before and after image.
The Design Process for Private Clients
When considering using us to build one of our structures for you, the first step is for us to come and meet you in your garden. This is a great opportunity for us to absorb your ideas while imagining how we can bring it to life.
More often than not, it is the garden that guides us. We are driven by creating structures that complement the garden, as well as being practical and meeting the design brief.
Collaboration with the client is key to the way we like to work. We listen to you, identifying and outlining your expectations for the site and ensuring that your vision and needs are met.
As what we do is so bespoke and individual, sketches are extremely helpful from a very early stage. The sketches help us to show you our vision and give you an opportunity to work with us on the design.
